Tag Archives: StarCraft II

Blizzard announced that StarCraft II is going free-to-play beginning on November 14, 2017. They explain that when they say free-to-play – they really mean it.

Starting on November 14, you’ll have free access to the original Wings of Liberty single-player campaign and every Co-Op Commander, and will be able to unlock access to StarCraft II’s competitive multiplayer content for free.

Here is what will be available for free:

The original Wings of Liberty campaign
Experience the original epic campaign that kicked off the StarCraft II saga! If you picked up Wings of Liberty previously but haven’t come back to StarCraft II in a while, you will receive the second installment in StarCraft II’s campaign, the zerg-focused Heart of the Swarm for free. To claim it, you need to log in between November 8 and December 8, 2017.

Access to the ranked multiplayer ladder
Compete with other players to become the best, complete with all the multiplayer units from Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void. To unlock it permanently, you need to earn 10 First Wins of the Day in Unranked or Versus A.I. Play.

Current and upcoming Co-op Commanders
These are available to play for free up to level five, and the level restriction for weekly mutations have been removed. The Co-op Commanders Raynor, Kerrigan, and Artanis will remain completely free, meaning that you can keep leveling them to your heart’s content.

In other words, you will soon be able to play all of StarCraft II’s multiplayer, every Co-op Commander, and the entire first campaign in the single-player story, for free.

Blizzard is starting a limited-time offer that is designed to generate interest in StarCraft – and to financially support StarCraft II eSports. StarCraft War Chest has three phases that will unlock on separate dates.

Phase I unlocks on July 19, 2017. Phase II unlocks on August 16, 2017. Phase III unlocks on September 23, 2017. Starting on October 4, 2017, there will be a Double XP bonus. The purpose of the extra XP is to help players to complete their War Chest. That same date is the purchase deadline for StarCraft War Chests. The War Chest offer closes on November 4, 2017.

War Chest: BlizzCon 2017 introduces more than 70 new items (spread across three phases), including sprays, emoticons, exclusive portraits, and StarCraft II’s first army-wide skins, all for a steeply discounted price.

On July 19, players can choose to purchase a War Chest for an individual StarCraft race (Protoss, Terran, or Zerg) for $9.99. Or, players can buy the entire collection for $24.99. The first War Chest you purchase unlocks some loot for other Blizzard Games: A Tal’darim pet for Diablo III, a Heroes of the Storm Loot Chest, and a free Hearthstone card pack.

Each War Chest begins with a single unit skin and an exclusive portrait. Additional skins are divided into three phases, and each can be unlocked by playing Multiplayer or Co-op matches during or after the corresponding phase, until by the end of the challenge you have a full set.

Progress is applied retroactively to newly purchased War Chests. If you have unlocked 5 rewards from the Zerg War Chest, and you purchase a Protoss War Chest, you will immediately unlock 5 Protoss rewards. Progress is shared across War Chests, so if you purchase more than one, you can work on them all simultaneously.

Blizzard states that 25% of all War Chest purchases go directly to StarCraft II eSports. The first $200K will be added to the $500K BlizzCon 2017 prize pool, with any surplus contributing to StarCraft II event production.